European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, right, and Deputy Minister for European Programmes Alun Davies AM, during their tour of Swansea

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Football loving EU commissioner Johannes Hahn said Swansea City’s elevation to the Premier League would have widespread economic benefits for the Swansea Bay region.

And the Austrian-born commissioner, responsible for structural funding in countries including Wales, yesterday promised the crisis in Greece would not affect EU money coming into Wales.

On his first ever visit to Wales which began on Thursday, commissioner Hahn visited the £107m Neath Port Talbot Peripheral Distributor Road known as Harbour Way, which received £56.2m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

It was the first major project supported by the Transport arm of the Convergence Programme in Wales.

He also visited the still expanding Swansea SA1 development and the Institute of Life Sciences 2 (ILS2) and Centre for Nanohealth (CNH), at Swansea University.

Commissioner Hahn saw presentations from young pupils participating in the £6m Technocamps project (receiving £4m from the European Social Fund – ESF) at the university.

Technocamps encourages young people to take up science, technology, engineering and maths through interactive sessions on topics like robotics and computer games development.

Speaking at Swansea University commissioner Hahn said of Swansea’s new status as a Premier League football region: “Sport and economics go together.

“It is clear the region has had a psychological lift because of Swansea’s success and the city’s name is being talked about everywhere which will help in tourism and inward investment. Congratulations to the team!”

He said the Greek crisis would not affect structural funding for Wales which he said was already earmarked up to 2013.

From 2007-13 Wales will receive a total of 2.1 billion euros from the ERDF and ESF covering 15 local authority areas in West Wales and the Valleys and 136m euros covering seven local authorities in East Wales.

The Neath Port Talbot Peripheral Distributor Road investment will open up a route from the M4 to Port Talbot and the docks where a multi-million pound new harbourside development of homes, offices, factories and leisure facilities is planned on 210 hectares of mainly brownfield land.

The SA1 Waterfront, soon to be supplemented by Swansea’s second marina at the former Prince of Wales Docks, is supported by major ERDF investments with the aim of transforming Swansea’s docklands to help establish the city as a European “waterfront city.

Deputy minister for European Programmes, Alun Davies said yesterday (fri) : “With the developments at Port Talbot harbour, the Urban Village project at Llandarcy in Neath and SA1, the whole of the Swansea Bay waterfront will be completely transformed.

“We are committed to ensuring our European programmes are amongst the most successful in the EU for shaping the conditions for sustainable growth and jobs for the future.

“EU projects, delivered in partnership, have already helped 86,500 people to gain qualifications and 36,500 into work, while 11,000 jobs and 2,150 enterprises have also been created.”

The visit by the commissioner follows First Minister Carwyn Jones’s trip to Brussels in February this year to further strengthen Wales’ links with Europe.

The First Minister said: “It is a pleasure to welcome commissioner Hahn to Wales and have the opportunity to discuss the opportunities to maintain and grow Wales’ links with Europe.

“The fact he is here is a clear sign of the benefits of engaging with Europe and I want to maintain our close working relationship.

“There are real benefits to our membership of the EU. It is one of our major trade partners, a destination for Welsh goods and services.

“European funding helps support businesses and communities across the country. I want to see these benefits to continue to proposer and support the economy of Wales.”